I recieved this by way of another online community, and everyone is being asked to pass it along. If you or someone you know is a veteran and a Druid, please take a moment to read this. It's a message from author Ellen Evert Hopman, and Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary, who are working towards getting the Veteran's Administration to approve the Awen symbol for placement on the headstones of Druid veterans. Please do what you can to share it with any Pagan vets you may know, and feel to repost it on your own websites and blogs: Calling Druid Veterans

In what's most likely an effort to court the evangelical vote in the upcoming presidential election, candidate Barack Obama told an audience the other day that he hopes to revamp the Faith-Based Initiative program instituted by the Bush administration. In a speech in Zanesville, Ohio, Obama proposed working to make sure that any charity receiving government funding be monitored, ostensibly to keep them from prosetylizing to those who would benefit in their programs, and "to prevent any religion-based discrimination against potential recipients or employees".

While I'm somewhat disappointed to hear him even discuss this -- because I don't think the government has any business getting involved in faith-based anything -- there's a part of me that wonders if maybe restructuring the existing system isn't such a bad idea after all. Obviously, faith-based charities are here to stay, so maybe if they were more strictly regulated, people wouldn't find themselves at the receiving end of a "no food until you hear a sermon" situation.

I've also heard people complain with this logic: "Would a Wiccan charity be embraced as much as a Christian or Catholic charity is?" Well, my response to that is "Start one up and find out." If a Wiccan or Pagan group can present themselves with the level of organization and forethought that some of the charities run by mainstream religious groups have, then by all means, give it a shot.

What do you guys think? Should the government do away with faith-based initiatives completely, or regulate the system so that it's fair for everyone who might be receiving the benefits of those charities?